Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge seeking bids on farming units

The Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge is carrying out an open bidding process to determine who will farm 2 units on the refuge from the Spring of 2019 to the Fall of 2021.

Unit 1 is 564 acres and will be farmed with a soybean cover crop rotation. Unit 2 is 164 acres and will be farmed with a rotation of corn, soybeans, wheat, and sunflowers. There is a requirement that Soybeans be non-GMO and corn is non-GMO corn that has not been treated with neonicotinoids.

Any interested parties can contact the Refuge Manager, Steve Whitson with questions or to get a bid package. Whitson can be reached at (660) 856-3323 ext. 13 or by email at [email protected].

The winning bidder will be selected by a selection committee and selection will be based upon the following criteria: Bid Price, Experience at cost share farming, adequate equipment and resources, and experience farming with cover crops. The Bid Application period begins on February 7 and all bids must be received by 4 PM on February 22, 2019.